There are plenty of reasons Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are viewed as surefire future NFL star quarterbacks—and why the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins will spend the top two picks on them when the 2012 NFL Draft opens April 26.

When you put all their best assets in a blender, these elite football prospect come out with skill sets that would make any general manager have a craving.

Luck, the expected first overall pick, and Griffin come into the league with their own special flavors, but when breaking down what they do well, it comes down to four basic, familiar ingredients that every modern elite quarterback possesses.

Ability to win

Flashy yardage and touchdown statistics are good for fantasy football, and the formula for passer rating is a helpful tool to better understand a quarterback’s efficiency. But the greatest passers are measured above all by one thing: Their ability to get their franchise a Super Bowl ring.

ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, who was a Super Bowl-winning coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sat down with both Luck and Griffin as part of his "QB Camp" pre-draft series. Gruden sees the track records of helping their college teams win as the biggest reason why Luck and Griffin are so coveted by NFL teams.

"There are criteria that most general managers, most head coaches, most quarterback coaches have always looked for, and winning is No. 1. No. 2 you look at durability, No. 3 playing experience," Gruden says. "Those are very important things to study, and you want a quarterback that’s won, that’s been durable and productive."

In the cases of Luck and Griffin, they both come with impressive histories. Both had considerable individual accomplishments at major college programs—Griffin won the Heisman Trophy, and Luck was a runner-up twice—but what is attractive to NFL teams is how they translated those skills into team success.

Over three years as the starter at Stanford, Luck took the Cardinal from a team that had endured seven consecutive losing seasons to one that won 31 games and appeared in two consecutive BCS bowl games. Griffin turned a Baylor program that won four games his freshman season into a 10-win team last season.

"Both these guys have carried their football teams," Gruden says. "Look at Stanford before Luck and post-Luck; look at Baylor before Griffin and post-Griffin. What they have done with their body of work is a tremendous credit to these two young guys."

The Colts and Redskins got into the positions of being able to select Luck and Griffin because of their struggles last season (as well as the Redskins’ ability to pull off a pre-draft trade to move up to the No. 2 spot). For Indianapolis, it took only one season without a healthy Peyton Manning to make the franchise pine for another quarterback capable of restoring its status as a consistent playoff team. For Washington, which has gone through a revolving door at the game’s most important position, Griffin presents a golden chance to slam the door on a checkered past.

It’s good Luck and Griffin are used to leading big turnarounds because that’s what they’ll be called upon to do in the NFL.

Accuracy

This attribute may seem more quantifiable than the quality of winning, but it goes well beyond the stat that’s most often attached to it: completion percentage.

"A high number of passes completed doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the ball to the right place," says Gil Brandt, longtime Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel and now a scouting analyst for NFL.com.

Brandt recalls that in the 1950s and ’60s, when passing games were downfield-oriented, it was common for the average quarterback to have a hard time breaking a 50 percent completion percentage, and many of them threw more interceptions than touchdown passes.

Now those numbers are better across the board, but they mean less because shorter passes, like dump-offs to running backs and checkdowns to other receivers, have become bigger parts of offenses.

The ability to throw the deep ball is still important, but just as much so is connecting with intermediate receivers in the best position to gain good yardage after the catch. Looking at three elite NFC quarterbacks who have won the past three Super Bowls—Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning—each does that as well as connecting on deep throws.

Former New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, now an ESPN studio analyst, notes another big change from earlier passing games. While quarterbacks today aren’t as aggressively going for the higher degree of difficulty with long outside passes, they have a different kind of challenge as they more routinely attack the middle of the field.

"You have five defenders inside. It’s more bodies in there you have to account for as a quarterback," Edwards says.

When Edwards coached the Jets, his best starting quarterback was Chad Pennington, whose 66.0 career completion percentage stands as the best in NFL history, a tenth of a point ahead of Brees’. Pennington’s ability to make good decisions and avoid interceptions at the most critical place on the field—the red zone—allowed him, despite limited arm strength and mobility, to survive in the league for a decade.

"If you have good accuracy, it in turn allows you to keep moving the chains and get into a rhythm," Edwards says. "You keep the ball and you protect it."

Brandt compares a quarterback’s accuracy to a pitcher’s control. It doesn’t matter if you have a rifle arm and can throw 100 mph; if you’re consistently off-target, it’s hard to be successful. Luck and Griffin come into the league with fastballs, but they also have good knowledge of the strike zone—among other things.

Intelligence

Passing the IQ test as a quarterback isn’t just about having the knowledge, it’s the ability to apply that knowledge quickly in the face of pressure.

"Football intelligence is how you adjust to the game as new situations arise," Brandt says.

Defensive coordinators consistently attempt to dumbfound quarterbacks by mixing up their blitz and coverage schemes, and the smartest quarterbacks are prepared for everything they might see and can quickly disseminate the information.

It’s no surprise that Brees, Rodgers and Eli Manning are superior in this area as well. And in the eyes of many, Luck is already equipped with pro-level football IQ.

"I wish I could describe it, his recognition of coverages, his retention, the way he studies the game, his audible mechanics and what he’s been asked to do, and done, with an incredible success rate," Gruden says. "(It’s) unparalleled with anybody I can remember in the college level."

Before Luck went to Stanford, one of the nation’s most prestigious higher-learning institutions, he was the co-valedictorian of his senior class at Houston’s Stratford High. He showed the same dedication to the classroom as he did studying to become a better quarterback in Palo Alto, returning for the 2011 season to finish his degree in architectural design and engineering. At Baylor, Griffin took care of his undergraduate degree in political science in 2010 and worked on his masters in communication during his Heisman-winning 2011 season.

Although being book smart isn’t always connected with being football intelligent, it certainly doesn’t hurt. Edwards knows from coaching Pennington, who was a Rhodes Scholar finalist at Marshall, that ace students can usually handle a bigger studying load in the NFL.

"You can ask them to do a lot more and give more volume to the offense," Edwards says.

Without a lockout to contend with, Luck and Griffin will step immediately into a full year of coaching, and expect both of them to want plenty of coursework.

Athleticism

While fans are fascinated by quarterbacks who can move like running backs—whether they’re two-dimensional like Michael Vick and Cam Newton or more one-dimensional like Tim Tebow—contained mobility is more effective over the long term. A quarterback takes enough hits when he’s not taking off downfield. The key to sustained success as a passer is using athleticism to absorb fewer hits.

Brees and Eli Manning aren’t regarded as mobile, but they don’t need to be because their combination of exceptional footwork within the pocket and quick release. If a quarterback is blessed with wheels, the mobile models to follow are two other Super Bowl winners: Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger.

Both know how to pick their spots to scramble for significant yardage but are always thinking pass first. For their running ability, Vick, by flying downfield, and Newton, by bowling past defenders into the end zone, have made many highlight reels. But as we’ve seen with Vick recently and we will see more from Newton, there needs to be a patience to keep working outside the pocket.

Moving well vertically does put pressure on the defense, but Rodgers and Roethlisberger have the mastered the art of moving laterally to avoid pressure from the defense. Each takes significantly more sacks than Brees and Manning, but they end up making more big plays than taking big losses.

"They’re looking to use their athleticism to buy time to facilitate their passing," says former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Theismann, now an analyst for NFL Network. "They are about creating more opportunities for their offense."

Luck has proved to be very agile in his own right, and his athletic qualities are reminiscent of Rodgers. Griffin is a track star, and he’s taking his explosiveness as runner to someone who will use that to make him a better passer.

Gruden, like most other NFL analysts, sees Griffin’s abilities meshing well in Mike Shanahan’s system. Shanahan won his two Super Bowls with a mobile quarterback, John Elway, by putting him in the right positions to show off his strong arm.

Because of his speed, Griffin has been compared to Vick, who has burned the Redskins badly as an Eagle. Edwards likens Griffin more to former Eagle Randall Cunningham.

"It hasn’t been a drop-back offense," says Edwards of Shanahan’s spin on the West Coast passing scheme. "Just like with other quarterbacks, they’ll use Griffin on a lot of boots and waggles that get him out pocket."

When stacked up against winning, accuracy and intelligence, elite athleticism isn’t a must-have ingredient. But a dash of it makes executing smart decisions go down a lot easier.

When you look at Luck and Griffin from what they did in college and during the pre-draft process, it’s clear they have all four ingredients in abundance. Luck might have the slight edge in winning and pro-style experience, and Griffin might get the nod for his accuracy and athleticism. But given that both have the work ethic to get better, NFL coaching should help round out all of their talents.

Growing pains are bound to come. The fact the Colts were just 2-14 last season and Luck doesn’t have Peyton Manning looking over his shoulder, the pressure of meeting high expectations will be eased for a couple of years. Griffin steps into a situation in Washington with a much better supporting cast, but his pressure will come in the form of playing in the highly competitive NFC East.

Looking a decade into the future, it’s hard to project who will have the better career, but Luck and Griffin come in well equipped in the battle to join the league’s best.